Category: Polls

Some of us in, oh I don’t know, the San Diego Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene, do not have to travel very far to feed our BJJ addiction. There’s a quality school in just about any direction you look. I do not bring this up to brag, but to point out that in some places people travel little for good jiu-jitsu, and I know in others people have to travel far for their jiu-jitsu classes. I have heard of folks commuting more than an hour to and from class several times a week for their jiu-jitsu classes!

What about you? How far do you travel for your BJJ classes? Leave comments below!

While I think it is safe to say that most Brazilian jiu-jitsu academies encourage students to compete in tournaments, I do not think many academies actually force anyone to compete, or make it a real requirement for belt promotions. So in the end the decision to compete is left up to the individual student.

Competition certainly helps one improve in jiu-jitsu, but it also requires more time and dedication to training if you want to do it right. There is also probably a higher risk of injury when you compete, and the performance anxiety is just too much for some people too.

In any case, some folks love competing in BJJ and/or submission grappling tourneys. Some participate once in a while, and others just don’t care at all for the competitions.

What about you? Do you make a habit of competing? Or do you leave that to the other folks at the academy? Leave comments below!

Some people are very particular about the way they care for their Brazilian jiu-jitsu gis. After all they are our uniform when doing jiu-jitsu, and most are not inexpensive, so you can’t blame someone for being careful about how they take care of their gi.

I have heard two schools of thought about drying a gi after it has been washed. Some people do not put their gi in the dryer, saying that the heat and wear and tear that a gi is exposed to will shorten the lifespan of the gi. Others prefer the convenience of having a gi dried quickly so that they can use it sooner.

What about you? Do you prefer to air dry your gi or put it in the dryer? Leave comments below!

Since the very early days of The FightWorks Podcast when we brought on a representative from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to discuss MRSA infections in Brazilian jiu-jitsu folks, we have tried to help make folks aware of MRSA, a deadly staph infection that appears on the skin. When a staph infection like this develops, it may feel like a large, painful zit or spider bite, but is in fact a bacteria that is resistant to traditional antibiotics and has claimed the lives of multiple wrestlers and grapplers like us.

When treated promptly, MRSA is entirely curable. So if you have such symptoms, get to a doctor fast and mention the possibility that you could have MRSA. And always, always wash your gi every time after you train!

Our question for you this week is whether or not you or anyone you know from training Brazilan jiu-jitsu / submission grappling has contracted MRSA. Let us know in the poll above, and if you have any stories you would like to share, put them in the comments below!

I know I should have posted this a little closer to December but it just occurred to me now. I received Marcelo Garcia Series 1 from my fiancee’s brother. I have already pulled off an armdrag or two that wouldn’t have happened before!

What about you? Did you get a new BJJ gi from your girlfriend? Did you get some BJJ DVDs after some careful hint-dropping to your parents? Vote and then tell us what you got in the comments below!

(BTW, if you did get a gi, I know there are some really sweet BJJ gi patches out there these days 😉 )

So you’ve passed your opponent’s tricky guard and you wind up in side mount, one of the most common Brazilian jiu-jitsu situations we find ourselves in. What do you do next? Perhaps you go for a submission. Maybe you establish mount. Or maybe you introduce your knee into your opponent’s stomach with extreme pressure.

So you’ve passed your opponent’s tricky guard and you wind up in side mount, one of the most common Brazilian jiu-jitsu situations we find ourselves in. What do you do next? Perhaps you go for a submission. Maybe you establish mount. Or maybe you introduce your knee into your opponent’s stomach with extreme pressure.

What do you do? Vote in our poll!

Of course, if you have more to say on the topic, add it in the comments below!

The Abu Dhabi Combat Club‘s submission grappling competitions are held every two years and are widely regarded as being the premier event to find the best no-gi competitors on the planet. The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation‘s annual World Championships, also referred to as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Mundials, are considered the highest platform for BJJ competitors wearing the gi.

Which do you find to be more exciting? I know it is a tough choice, but for this poll you have to pick just one!

And just so you can start planning now, here are some important dates for you:

2009 IBJJF Mundials: June 4 – 7, Los Angeles

2009 ADCC Finals: still to be announced! However at the moment we know that the US Trials will be held January 10 & 11 for the west coast at Cal State’s Long Beach Pyramid and on January 17 & 18 in New York at a location to be announced shortly.

We are learning a lot about the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu as it stands today via our BJJ Polls! In our last poll we learned that most people who do BJJ (and responded to the poll) train under black belts.

This week we want to know another basic characteristic of the average person who trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu. How many times do you train?